Classic VH Album Titles and Album Covers, Who's Responsible?

[Wolverine]

Who gave the titles to the big 6 and who came up with the ideas for the album covers??

[loss of fools]

from what iv read in crazy from the heat i though dave liked to have a lot of say in that kinda thing. has been a while since i read it though.

[DavidLeeNatra]

dave and alex

[academic punk]

did alex have any say at that point?

Dave mentions in Crazy how he had to spend hours and hours in an office, learning about graphic design and fonts and whatnot (and how much more difficult and time-consuming the job was before the advnet of computers). he also talks in interviews (and the brothers do nothing to deny this) how he was the boss in those days, and he was dictatorial and demanding and uncompromising.

There's also that line in the book how someone once told Ed and Alex, "You guys play the music, the Jew sells it."

1984 is definitely Dave - album cover and the literary title reference. I'd be surprised if to this day Ed and Al can SAY "Geroge Orwell" (which isn't a dig, you could ask me to name a prominent...uh..architect...and I couldn't.

Same with fair Warning and WACF - those are references to song lyrics, so I'd say all dave again.

Diver Down - gotta be dave, reference to outdoor sports and aquatics that you would do at Club Med (while not humping someone's wife on the beach).

[DavidLeeNatra]

Originally posted by academic punk
did alex have any say at that point?

Dave mentions in Crazy how he had to spend hours and hours in an office, learning about graphic design and fonts and whatnot (and how much more difficult and time-consuming the job was before the advnet of computers). he also talks in interviews (and the brothers do nothing to deny this) how he was the boss in those days, and he was dictatorial and demanding and uncompromising.

There's also that line in the book how someone once told Ed and Alex, "You guys play the music, the Jew sells it."

1984 is definitely Dave - album cover and the literary title reference. I'd be surprised if to this day Ed and Al can SAY "Geroge Orwell" (which isn't a dig, you could ask me to name a prominent...uh..architect...and I couldn't.

Same with fair Warning and WACF - those are references to song lyrics, so I'd say all dave again.

Diver Down - gotta be dave, reference to outdoor sports and aquatics that you would do at Club Med (while not humping someone's wife on the beach).

sounds reasonable...except for "geroge orwell"

[light 'em up!]

Originally posted by academic punk
Diver Down - gotta be dave, reference to outdoor sports and aquatics that you would do at Club Med (while not humping someone's wife on the beach).

It was Alex's idea, cover and all.

WACF and 1984 were definietly Dave.

[Halen High]

Dave was always the imaginative one in the band and he states in his book he was very proud of the fact that Classic Van Halen was a great visual entity, as well as a musical one. So I've no doubt Dave was at the very least the major contributor for the album covers. Not sure about the titles though.

[rustoffa]

I'd venture to say the first records' cover was heavily influenced by the suits @ WB.

That's a joke and I have no fucking idea, maybe Ted Templeman whittled it out of a pine log.

[golden boy]

Dave wanted to call diver down big trouble but for some reason they trashed the idea. The halens hated diver down thats why it didnt make the first greatist hits cd. I think Dave was always stabing everybody in the back with his lyrics. I heard one foot out the door was about him fucking Alex wife. Big bad bill is sweet william was a slam to every one that was married in the band and he even wanted eddies father to play in it, I think that is ironic. Where have all the good times gone was about the band not hanging around anymore.

[degüello]

Dave.